While we will never be done creating a school population that reflects the rich multicultural diversity of Chicago, 33% of NPES students self-identify as students of color, as do 21% of our teaching faculty and 29% of our Board of Trustees. Our four largest groups among students are Asian/Pacific Islander, Multi-Racial, Latinx, and African-American/Black. We also have a broad spectrum of gender and sexuality identities in our community, multiple faith traditions (including Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Agnosticism, and Humanism) and we celebrate the unique abilities and important contributions of students who offer neurodivergence, comprising about 20% of our school. We actively work to expand the school’s reach into new communities, today including families from sixteen zip codes.

Emphasizing an experience-centered education with a rich multicultural curriculum that includes real-world experiences through NPES’ own Edventures Program, including service learning partnerships, field studies, neighborhood explorations, and a robust student travel program.

All teaching faculty and full-time staff have completed or are in the midst of completing at least one year of SEED (new faculty are required to participate early in their tenure at the school). SEED seminars help individuals “embrace the challenges and joys of the many kinds of diversity found in their own lives and in the lives of others with more confidence and competence." SEED helps our educators recognize systems of identity-based bias and privilege and strive to develop inclusive and equitable teaching practices that include both identity mirrors and windows for their students. Our sixth graders take a semester-long student SEED course as part of their introduction to middle school. SEED for students is all about Sparking Empathy and Embracing Diversity in preparation for their studies over the next three years and beyond.

We partner with the Single Story organization to ensure our educational program continues to evolve in multicultural education, social justice education, and culturally-responsive pedagogy and curriculum in all areas of the school. We also provide opportunities for students to grapple with complex world issues that enable them to explore the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizens in a democratic society.

We provide multiple opportunities in our curriculum for students at every grade to explore their identities, develop their voices, and live their authentic truth, as we offer affirming identity mirrors and windows for all. We also curate class meetings, an advisory program, a cross-grade buddies program, community-building events throughout the year, and engagement with our school counselors and all faculty to model, teach, and provide student practice in developing healthy and sustainable social-emotional skills. 

In collaboration with Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, we educate faculty/staff and all students on gender identity development and establishing safe and healthy boundaries, including the differences between sex assigned at birth, gender identity, gender expression, and sexuality, along with important concepts like consent and how to be an upstander against gender-based bias and bullying.

These evolving spaces currently include our faculty/staff Diversity Action Team (DAT), the Middle School Student PRIDE Alliance, the 6th Grade SEED (Sparking Empathy, Embracing our Diversity) Course, our Parents’ Association Cultural Celebrations Committee, and the Board of Trustees’ DEI Committee. Beyond our own community, NPES employees have participated in the National Association of Independent Schools’ People of Color Conference, the White Privilege Conference, and the Lake Michigan Association of Independent School Diversity Job Fair. A member of the NPES faculty also serves on the regional Independent Schools’ Association of the Central States’ Equity & Justice Committee.